700 vs Weber 22” Smokey Mountain

Tony

Active member
Messages
29
Grill(s) owned
  1. Bull
I have had my RT 700 with smoke box now since June. I do like the way this unit sets up and cooks most things. But I don’t think I would buy a pellet grill again. It’s good for burgers, chicken and such, and yes you can smoke on it, but to me the smoke quality of the Rec Tec against the wood chunks and charcoal in a Weber is not as good.

And before you think I’m just a newbie starting out, just so you know I’m 60yrs old and have used quite a few smokers and grills over the years. So as far as smoking briskets, ribs, pork butts, it will go on the Weber Smokey Mountain, burgers chicken and hotdogs will go on this pellet pooper.
 
@Tony thanks for sharing your thoughts. Everyone has their own preference, I don't think anyone here is going to chastise that.

By the way, if you're looking for even more smoke in your Rec Tec Bull (RT-700) then you might want to take a look at adding a smoke tube or even the Heavy D diffuser.
 
I have had my RT 700 with smoke box now since June. I do like the way this unit sets up and cooks most things. But I don’t think I would buy a pellet grill again. It’s good for burgers, chicken and such, and yes you can smoke on it, but to me the smoke quality of the Rec Tec against the wood chunks and charcoal in a Weber is not as good.

And before you think I’m just a newbie starting out, just so you know I’m 60yrs old and have used quite a few smokers and grills over the years. So as far as smoking briskets, ribs, pork butts, it will go on the Weber Smokey Mountain, burgers chicken and hotdogs will go on this pellet pooper.

Can I ask what type of pellets you use? I also come from being a WSM guy for years and a month or so ago bought a RT700. I had a lot of doubt about smoke profile going in as far as thinking the 700 would disappoint compared to my WSM's.

From much reading before hand I had decided the Lumberjack pellets seemed to be the choice for smoke profile along with smoking at lower temps. In my case it is fortuitous that I have Lumberjack available locally at a reasonable price. (8.99/20lb bag) I have around 10 cooks under my belt and so far I am happy with the smoke profile as has have been friends and family. I would certainly give the WSM the edge in smoke profile but not by a wide margin.

I also have the Don Godke down draft installed and have had it from the beginning so I can not comment on the difference of profile with/without. I keep the vent on the top of downdraft either closed or 3/4 closed and I have had plenty of smoke.

I have liked the smoke profile enough that I have gifted my 18 1/2 WSM and am really contemplaiting selling my 22 1/2 WSM. A little less smoke profile but the convienence make it an acceptable tradeoff for me.
 
I have a WSM as well.

Sometimes I'm in the mood for food cooked on it, other times in the mood for food cooked on my Rec Tec.

I like them both and use them both.
 
A pellet grill will never give the deep heavy smoke that a traditional smoker will. If you can only have a single device and thats what you like then your decision is easy. However grills are really no different than other tools in our lives. I personally have yet to find a single tool that does everything i want perfectly. Be it cars, sockets, wood working tools etc. I have a 700 and a traditional smoker, i will not give up either. The 700 is a great set it and forget it device, a smoke tube will give you extra smoke but still not to the level of old school smokers. The 700 sears but for me not to my liking and not to what an open flame will do. So yes i feel your pain in those respects. If you want a heavier profile, for longer cooks (briskets, butts etc). You can start it for a couple to few hours on your weber then put it on 700 and simply forget about it till its done. I most of the time end up slow cooking on the 700 then reverse searing over open flame. I have grill grates that i have prior to 700 but we still prefer the maillard reaction profile created from open flame. Grills no matter what style or type are merely tools we use to express our personal flavors profiles for our own consumption and sharing with others.
 
Can I ask what type of pellets you use? I also come from being a WSM guy for years and a month or so ago bought a RT700. I had a lot of doubt about smoke profile going in as far as thinking the 700 would disappoint compared to my WSM's.

From much reading before hand I had decided the Lumberjack pellets seemed to be the choice for smoke profile along with smoking at lower temps. In my case it is fortuitous that I have Lumberjack available locally at a reasonable price. (8.99/20lb bag) I have around 10 cooks under my belt and so far I am happy with the smoke profile as has have been friends and family. I would certainly give the WSM the edge in smoke profile but not by a wide margin.

I also have the Don Godke down draft installed and have had it from the beginning so I can not comment on the difference of profile with/without. I keep the vent on the top of downdraft either closed or 3/4 closed and I have had plenty of smoke.

I have liked the smoke profile enough that I have gifted my 18 1/2 WSM and am really contemplaiting selling my 22 1/2 WSM. A little less smoke profile but the convienence make it an acceptable tradeoff for me.
Can I ask what type of pellets you use? I also come from being a WSM guy for years and a month or so ago bought a RT700. I had a lot of doubt about smoke profile going in as far as thinking the 700 would disappoint compared to my WSM's.

From much reading before hand I had decided the Lumberjack pellets seemed to be the choice for smoke profile along with smoking at lower temps. In my case it is fortuitous that I have Lumberjack available locally at a reasonable price. (8.99/20lb bag) I have around 10 cooks under my belt and so far I am happy with the smoke profile as has have been friends and family. I would certainly give the WSM the edge in smoke profile but not by a wide margin.

I also have the Don Godke down draft installed and have had it from the beginning so I can not comment on the difference of profile with/without. I keep the vent on the top of downdraft either closed or 3/4 closed and I have had plenty of smoke.

I have liked the smoke profile enough that I have gifted my 18 1/2 WSM and am really contemplaiting selling my 22 1/2 WSM. A little less smoke profile but the convienence make it an acceptable tradeoff for me.
I am using the rec Tec pellets, I’ve tried the ultimate pellets among several others.. just to say, I don’t dislike this grill at all. And I’m sure there are a lot of owners that swear by this system for smoking meats ... all good, each cooking system has it’s intricacies, The WSM is not perfect at all aspects of cooking meats, I wouldn’t necessarily grill, sear steaks or hot dogs and burgers, I mean you could but this not the main purpose of a dedicated smoker like the WSM.

I think I will try the smoking tubes that are available.. I guess when you’ve smoked meats with charcoal and fruit woods it is a transition to go to compressed saw dust. Again wasn’t trying to slander this system, I just won’t look at the 700 as total go system for everything.
 
A pellet grill will never give the deep heavy smoke that a traditional smoker will. If you can only have a single device and thats what you like then your decision is easy. However grills are really no different than other tools in our lives. I personally have yet to find a single tool that does everything i want perfectly. Be it cars, sockets, wood working tools etc. I have a 700 and a traditional smoker, i will not give up either. The 700 is a great set it and forget it device, a smoke tube will give you extra smoke but still not to the level of old school smokers. The 700 sears but for me not to my liking and not to what an open flame will do. So yes i feel your pain in those respects. If you want a heavier profile, for longer cooks (briskets, butts etc). You can start it for a couple to few hours on your weber then put it on 700 and simply forget about it till its done. I most of the time end up slow cooking on the 700 then reverse searing over open flame. I have grill grates that i have prior to 700 but we still prefer the maillard reaction profile created from open flame. Grills no matter what style or type are merely tools we use to express our personal flavors profiles for our own consumption and sharing with others.
I would agree with this, I guess we all would love the perfect system that would enable total perfection to the users personal view of perfectly smoked meats.
 
Tony definitely check into a smoke tube...and different makes of pellets...The all 100% wood pellets do make a difference as well as the brand. I can second the Lumberjack brand being one of the better ones. I totally agree with what you're saying about a old school smoker and comparison. I've incorporated wood chips into my smoke-tube and I feel it made a difference. And like Mike suggested there is the BigD heat shield that holds wood if you'd be interested. It's been mentioned already,but, ease of use sometimes is better than the baby sitting of old school smoking. It's all personal choice. Goodluck let us know if you find a way to do your style on the RecTec.
 
I am using the rec Tec pellets, I’ve tried the ultimate pellets among several others.. just to say, I don’t dislike this grill at all. And I’m sure there are a lot of owners that swear by this system for smoking meats ... all good, each cooking system has it’s intricacies, The WSM is not perfect at all aspects of cooking meats, I wouldn’t necessarily grill, sear steaks or hot dogs and burgers, I mean you could but this not the main purpose of a dedicated smoker like the WSM.

I think I will try the smoking tubes that are available.. I guess when you’ve smoked meats with charcoal and fruit woods it is a transition to go to compressed saw dust. Again wasn’t trying to slander this system, I just won’t look at the 700 as total go system for everything.

No slander detected, and hope i don't sound defensive. Just saying I was a doubter at first and now I am more than happy. I received 5 forty pound bags of the Rec Tec ultimate blend with the bundle I selected and where I think they are not bad so to speak the LumberJack 100% Hickory put out a more visible smoke and impart a more noticeable smoke flavor on the Q at lower range of smoke temps anyway.

I have used my smoke tube a time or two and on short cooks it does seem to knock the smoke profile up a bit. I only mention the LumberJack due to many extolling its virtues across several BBQ sites and it could possibly be a difference maker for you.
 
I'm kind of in the opposite camp. I use my stampede as my dedicated smoker and use my Kamado joe as my jack of all trades for everything else. The KJ made some great smoked meats but to me it had a much heavier smoke profile that my wife didn't always like. I like having multiple grills/smokers, because it never fails that when I want a something smoked for supper, I want something grilled for lunch.
 
For what it’s worth, I added a smoke daddy to my bull. It gave me the smoke profile I was looking for. Here are pictures of ribs and a brisket on the bull with the smoke daddy. Also let me clarify, I added a smoke daddy big kahuna to my bull. Not the diffuser plate.
 

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No slander detected, and hope i don't sound defensive. Just saying I was a doubter at first and now I am more than happy. I received 5 forty pound bags of the Rec Tec ultimate blend with the bundle I selected and where I think they are not bad so to speak the LumberJack 100% Hickory put out a more visible smoke and impart a more noticeable smoke flavor on the Q at lower range of smoke temps anyway.

I have used my smoke tube a time or two and on short cooks it does seem to knock the smoke profile up a bit. I only mention the LumberJack due to many extolling its virtues across several BBQ sites and it could possibly be a difference maker for you.
Well I tried the Lumberjack pellets from Dicks and these smoke a lot less than the Rec Tec pellets do. Not impressed with these, guess I’ll grind the fire box out and make a nice charcoal grill out of it?
 
That's strange Tony, I found them to smoke the same ,but have better taste. What temp did you cook at? And what style Lumberjacks did you use?
 
That's strange Tony, I found them to smoke the same ,but have better taste. What temp did you cook at? And what style Lumberjacks did you use?
I was cooking chicken and ever since I’ve used this grill, I run it on extreme smoke for around 40 min and then kick it up to 350. First 5-10 min on low smoke it smoked very little, by 30 min it was nothing. I used the apple cherry from Dicks, its all they had. The chicken was good when done but had no smoke taste at all.
 
Only thing I can add is, as you add heat it lessens the smoke (or pushes it out?)...This is the reason I use a smoke tube on anything over 225° or 235°
I'm definitely not the "know all of Smoking", just letting you know what works for me...also to me I usually go 2-3 hrs on the smoke time. I read a College study (don't have it handy) that said you only absorb as much smoke as you are ever going to get in that 2-3 hour window. I like a heavier smoke flavor. The 700 is definitely different flavor ratio to say a stick burner... Just my opinions, goodluck man ! Fyi I've noticed the lumberjacks burn hotter than others I've tried too.
 
Only thing I can add is, as you add heat it lessens the smoke (or pushes it out?)...This is the reason I use a smoke tube on anything over 225° or 235°
I'm definitely not the "know all of Smoking", just letting you know what works for me...also to me I usually go 2-3 hrs on the smoke time. I read a College study (don't have it handy) that said you only absorb as much smoke as you are ever going to get in that 2-3 hour window. I like a heavier smoke flavor. The 700 is definitely different flavor ratio to say a stick burner... Just my opinions, goodluck man ! Fyi I've noticed the lumberjacks burn hotter than others I've tried too.
Hey Buckeye, good talkin to you, yeah I might try a smoke. I’ll make one with expanded metal and try it. I did see where Weber has come with their own pellet grill, wife has already said no more grills...
 

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